The deadline to apply for an individual artist grant from the Rasmuson Foundation will be March 1. Workshops to help people apply have already been held in Anchorage and Fairbanks and now, says Rasmuson program officer Jeff Baird, "We're taking the show on the road."
Workshops will take place at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council building at noon on Friday, Jan. 29; at Sheet'Ka Kwaan Naa Kahidid Community House in Sitka at 10 a.m. Jan. 30; at the UAF Northwest Campus Conference Room in Nome at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2; and at the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum in Bethel at 5 p.m. on Feb. 3. Refreshments will be provided at each event.
To be eligible, an artist should currently be producing or performing work, be 18 years or older and have lived in Alaska for at least two years. Grants range from $7,500 to $40,000. Since the foundation began the program 13 years ago, 372 grants have been presented to individual artists amounting to a total of $3.1 million. But applications are filed by computer and not all artists are familiar or comfortable with the technology. Some open the website and experience "information overload," Baird said.
"It's really not that overwhelming if you break it down," he said. The workshops will walk potential applicants through the process and make them aware of what's required.
"We want to stress the importance of having a complete application, not just submitting work samples," Baird said. "You really need to articulate a project that's going to have benefits on the growth of your career, a resume, an artist's statement."
Baird said grants have been well-distributed throughout the state in the past, "But the resources are for everyone in the state. We want to make sure that more rural communities are aware of the opportunities for the grants."
In particular, Baird hopes the road trip will make off-the-road-system artists comfortable with approaching the foundation.
"We really want to make sure artists put a face to the name, to let people know they can call. It was important this year to go out and say, 'We're approachable. This is the program. Give us a call."
The numbers to call are 279-2831 or, toll free, 877-366-2700. You can also email Baird at at jbaird@rasmuson.org.